Succesion...Succs?

Shelby watches TV, continued. Also: woke beer, notes app apology, scary fish

TGIF sweet subs!

A mighty and continued thanks to all who comment, email, and share this very newsletter! If I don’t respond directly, please do know that I am reading and absolutely cherishing all your responses.

It rules to remember people are, well, reading this. It’s year…4? of Please Clap and since I’ve been blissfully, BRAVELY, offline, my direct-to-consumer (I’m the consumer) gratification of people engaging with my little thoughts has gone away. And while my mental health is 1000000000x better off without the instant feedback and Geddy Lee-ifying of my persona, I do really miss connecting and learning with /from other people.

Which is to say THANK YOU for reading! Please tell your friends that despite slithering away from social media I’M STILL POSTING! BRAVELY! AND MY DOG? STILL HOT! (NOT IN A SEXUAL WAY).

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I drew this cartoon like, five years ago, and I absolutely cannot believe where and how it remains relevant:

Did not have the Dalai Lama posting a notes app apology on my “ever happening” Bingo card but…here we are. Uncanny. Here’s a good read on it.

Reading:

• “Blurred Lines,” Harbinger of Doom

• How cities ‘twin’ with Israeli apartheid

• Highway Star “On the truck, boom, I have energy, I know what I’m doing”

• Rise of the Climate Rating Agencies

• “Mask off at the door” policies undermine our rights as disabled people

Conservatives plot text warnings on "woke" products

This is so funny to me for so many reasons. IMO despite obvious exceptions, consumerism based….uh….activism? Is an inefficient (albeit hilarious) way to enact change. I’ve written about this before but I don’t remember in which newsletter, alas.

In large part, I think this potential move highlights the commonalities between Americans regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, wherein partaking in or abstaining from products/brands becomes a viable politics. Again, obvious exceptions, boycotts and the like can be incredibly effective. But like…wandering the aisles and looking for the beer that best suits your Manhood. Or the beer that best displays your allyship….Iconic….What you purchase = what you believe in. And you BET the execs of those brands 1,000% have an ethos besides “sell things!” Brands are people too OKAY! Now toss me my Bic for Her so I can empower women whilst signing my soul away to the devil.

Shelby Is Watching TV (Spoilers below):

• Unfortunately I am being proven right with my “Yellow Jackets is gonna pull a Lost” and…I might be giving up? On the show? Stay tuned. Still love the cast and the premise but it’s losing me with the lore. And that’s hard to do because you KNOW I read books with a huge map in the front. I’m really good at following lore! I’m a nerd! But this shit is…not tracking. We shall see.

• Love is Blind Brazil is BETTER THAN U.S. VERSION. You are welcome for this hot tip.

• I did watch Alaska Daily. Don’t ask me. I actually liked it more than I thought I would. Cannot—CANNOT—get over how many times Million Dollar Baby says “cancel culture.” I fully guffawed multiple times.

• I watched Beef. I quite liked it! Absolutely loved the soundtrack. Brave for a show in 2023 to include this song which absolutely ruled my teenage years:

Okay to return to my title today: Succession…sucks?

I don’t actually think it sucks. I fooled you a little. BUT. But…

THIS IS BATSHIT! THIS IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!!!! WE ALREADY HAVE SO MUCH MISTRUST WITH THE MEDIA FOR GOOD REASON AND A LOT OF DISINFORMATION WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!

A show about a fake but incredibly realistic media dynasty being covered like real news in the media dynasties of record? My head hurts!

The show? It’s good! As mentioned a few newsletters ago, I love the bits that skew more Peep Show, like the relationship between Cousin Greg and Tom. I didn’t think the most recent episode was great. It moved the plot along, sure, but eh. (For actually good criticism of the show, you must read Hunter Harris).

Here’s the problem for me personally, and it’s not Succession specific, but perhaps a “prestige TV that appeals to the exact niche of Twitter power users” problem.

The show is like…catnip for certain media types, and it’s a show about media types, written by media types. Meaning it is bolstered by the exact type of persona the show is, very accurately, skewering / upholding. So while it may be a brilliant and hilarious look at a specific type of person, workplace, etc., it just so happens to be the type of person/place that the 20% of twitter power users or whatever relate to. Which inflates the show to a level that I don’t think is 1) intentional or 2) deserved.

I am maybe a broken record but it comes back again to my thesis that the content that grates my soul most profoundly is often grating because of the reception, the Discourse, and not necessarily the content. Anyways Succession has become so lauded that it’s hard to not see it as a Gordian knot of tongue-in-check “self-reflection” by people made for people that are actually the same, so it’s just like, a circle jerk? And the rest of us Clap because we’re absolute goblins for a show about an old media tycoon screaming at his children before his timely death? Perhaps. Stay tuned as this urgent thought unfolds further.

Other news of interest:

And my dog (young clem, with my ex who found her, absolutely 10/10 best thing he ever did for me, god bless)

And as a bonus for Clem Size fanatics:

Cheers much love
Shelby + Clem